Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-04-30
CHAPTER w.


BESSIE is ASKED IN MARRIAGE.
In due course John Mel got over his
sprained ankle and the other in iuries inflicted
on him by tue Infatuated cock ostrich dt is,
by the way, humiliating thing to be
knocked out of time by a feathered fowl,
and set to work to learn the routine of farm
life. He did not find this disagreeable task,
especially when he had 50 fair an instructress
as Bessie, who knew all about it, to show him
the way in which he should go. Naturally of
an energetic and hard working temperament,
he very soon got more or less into the swing
of the thing, and at the end of six weeks be-
gan TO talk quite learnedly of cattle and os-
triches and sweet and sour veldt. About once
a week or so Bessie used to put him through
a regular examination as to his progress; also
she gave him lessons in Dutch and Zulu, both
of which tongues she spoke to perfection; SO
it will be seen that he did not lack for pleas
ant and profitable employment Another
thing was that he grew much attached to old
Silas Croft. The old gentleman, with his hand
some, honest face, his large and varied stock
of experience, and his sturdy English charac-
ter, made great impression on his mind. He
had never met a man quite like him before.
Nor was the liking unreciprocated, for his
host took wonderful fancy TO John Mel
"You see, my dear" he explained to his niece
Bessie, ''he's quiet, and he doesn't know much
about farming, but he's willing to learn, and
he's such gentleman Now, where one has
kafiirs to deal with. as on place like this,
you must have a gentleman Your mean
white will never get anything out of a Kaffir;
that's why the Beers kill them and fog them,
because they can't get anything out of them
without But you see Capt. Mel gets on well
enough with them. | think he'll do, my
dear, | think he'll do and Bessie quite agreed
with him And So it came to pass that after
this six weeks trial the bargain was finally
struck, and John paid over his 81 900 and
took third interest in Mooifontein
Now it is not possible, in a general way
for youngiSh man like John Mel to live in
the same house with young and lovely
woman like Bessie Croft without running
more or less risk of ENHANCEMENT. More es-
pecially is this SO where the two people have
little or no outside society or distraction to
| divert the attention from each other Not
that there was as yet, at any rate, the
| slightest hint of affection between them
! Only they liked one another very much, and
In short, they were walking along that easy,
| winding road that leads to the mountain
| paths OF love 1t is a very broad road, like
another road that runs elsewhere, and, also
| like this last, it has wide gate Sometimes.
| too, it leads to destruction But for all that
| it is most agreeable one to follow hand in
| hand, winning it does through the pleasant
| meadows of companonship The view is
rather limited, il Is true, and homelike-full
| OF familiar things. There stand the kline,
| knee deep in the grass; there runs the water
| and there grows the corn. Also one can stop
| if one likes. BY and by it grows different.
| By and by when the travellers tread the
heights of passion, precipices will yawn
and torrents rush, lightning will fall
ami storms will blind; and who can know
| that they win attain at last to that far off
| peak, crowned with the glory of perfect
| peace which men call happiness. There are
| those who say IL never can be reached, and
| that the halo which rests upon its slopes is nc
| earthly light, but rather, as it were, a
| promise of "A beacon-a glow reflected whence
| we know not, and lying on this alien earth as
| the suns light lies on the dead bosom of the
moon. Some say, again, that they have
climbed its topmost pinnacle and tasted of
| the fresh breath of heaven that sweeps
around its heights-ay, and heard the quiring
| of immortal harps and the swanlike sigh OF
| angels wings; and then behold a mist has
| fallen upon them, and they have wandered in
| it. and when 1t cleared they were on the
| mountain paths again, and the peak was fan
! away And a few there are who tell us that
| they live there always, listening to the voice
| of God; but these are old and worn with
| iourneying-men and women who have out
| lived passions and ambitions and the fire
| heats of love, and who now, girt about with
| memories stand face to face with the sphinx
| eternity.
| But John Mel was no chicken, nor very
| likely to tall il love with the first pretty face
| he met He bad once, years ago. gone
| through that melancholy stage, and there, he
! thought, was all end of it Another thing
was that if Bessie attracted him, so did JeSs
| in a different way Before he had been a
/ week in the house be had come to the con,
| clusion that jess was the straugest woman he
had ever met and in her own way one of the
| most attractive. Her very inpaSsiveness
| a1f1ed TO ner charm; Tor who Is there IN TIN,
world who does not like to learn a secretl Tc
| know the key. That she was clever and vel
| informed be soon discovered from her rare
| remarks; that She coul,i sing like an angel he
| also knew; but what was the handspring OF
| her mInd-round what axis did it reVolve-
! that was what puzzled him. Clearly enough
| 1t was not like most women's, least Of all like
| happy. healthy, plain sailing Bessie. Socuri
| Gus did he become to fathom these mysteries
| that he took every opportunity 10 associate
/ with her, and would even, when he had time
| go out with Der on her sketching, or rather
| Hover painting, expeditions. On these oc
caslons she would sometimes begin to talk
| but 1t was always about books, or England
or some intellectual question She never
| spoke of herself
| Yet it soon became evident to John that
| she liked his society, and missed him when ht
| did not come. 1t never occurred to him what
a boon it was to girl of considerable intel
| lectual attainments, and still greater intel
| lectual capacities and aspirations, to bt
| thrown for the first time into the society of G
cultivated and intelligent gentleman. Johr
| Mel was no empty headed. one sided indi
vidual. He had both read and thought, aRG
| even written little and in him jess found 6
| mind which, though of an inferior stamp
was more or less kindred to her own. Al
though he did not understand her, she under
stood him, and at last, had he but known it
| there rose far off dawning light upon the
| twilight of her mind that thrilled and changed
1t as the first faint rays of morning thrill and
| change the darkness of the night What il
| she should learn to love this man. and teach
him to love herr To most women such 6
thought involves more or less the idea OF
marriage, and that change of statu,
which they generally consider so de
sirable. But jess did not think much
of that; what she did think of was the
blessed possibility of being able to lay dowr
| her life, as it were, in the life of another-ot
| finding at last somebody who understood her
and whom she could understand, who would
| cut the shackles that bound down the wings Of
her genius, SO that she could rise and bear hin
with her as, in Bulwer Lytton's beautiful
story, Zoe would have borne her lover. Here
| at last was a man who understood, who wa:
| something more than an animal, and who
| possessed the godlike gift of brains, the gift
that had been more of curse than blessing